7aja حاجة
Algerian Darja · noun
“7aja” (حاجة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning thing, something.
Meanings
- thing, something
- matter, need, something to do
Usage
Haja is the common word for "thing" in Algeria. It is used everywhere: "haja mliha" (a good thing), "kayen haja" (there is something), "hatta haja" (nothing at all, in a negative sentence). It also refers to a need or something to be dealt with: "3andi haja" (I have something to do). In the plural, "hwayej" refers to belongings or clothes. Note that "el hadja" is a different use: it respectfully refers to an elderly woman or a woman who has made the pilgrimage.
Example
شريت حاجة مليحة ليماك
chrit haja mliha l yemmak
“I bought something nice for your mother.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “7aja” but also “haja”, “7adja” and “hadja”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.
Type “7aja” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “thing, stuff”; “need, errand to run”: 7aja in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “thing, stuff”; “something”: 7aja in Tunisian.